Dave Chase presents an interesting idea about local networks in his book The Opioid Crisis Wake-Up Call. Local networks, Chase explains, grew from the small groups and tribes that humans evolved within. The systems and structures that allowed for cooperation in small groups, have evolved into complex structures of institutions like government, insurance risk pools, and social media. Chase focuses on the health insurance side of these local networks, and considers whether scaling local networks is really the best thing for today’s societies.
Chase writes, “When local networks are scaled up, you add hierarchy, says Brookfield [Venture Capitalist Chris Brookfield], and this creates opportunity for theft and redirection.”
The idea from Brookfield that Chase is getting at is the idea that many of our systems were formed in small groups and tight communities where social accountability and trust were easy. Everyone knew each other, the community had many close ties and interactions, and it was not hard to keep track of personal debts and obligations. As societies grew, and as our cities, nations, and global structures became more complex, we brought along the same structures of the systems that served our evolutionary tribal ancestors well.
However, as complexity grew within those structures, the pitfalls of scaling local networks became apparent. There are too many transactions, too many opportunities for theft and fraud, and too few people who have real oversight and understanding of how the systems work. This allows for abuse of the system and for people to get away with cheating.
In healthcare it might look like increasing premiums year-over-year, without a clear explanation as to why premiums are increasing. It might look like unnecessary healthcare expenditures, unnecessary healthcare procedures performed and billed by providers, and opaque systems of approving or denying medical claims. No one knows anyone anymore, no one is accountable, and no one has a clear accounting of debts and obligations. Some outright fraud occurs, a lot of abuse of the system occurs, and even more common, a lot of fudging things and pushing boundaries takes place. Our healthcare insurance system is built on a structure and idea that doesn’t fit the complex high scale realities of the world we live in today.
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